


The Absence of Pretence, Deceit, or Hypocrisy

by Wearysea



Series: Loving Deceit Hours [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Getting Back Together, Hopeful Ending, Lovers To Enemies, M/M, Not in this one but later in the series, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-27 01:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21384046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wearysea/pseuds/Wearysea
Summary: Deceit and Virgil haven’t been on good terms for a while, but Deceit’s snake and Virgil’s spider are fond of each other, so they bare each other’s presence for their sakes.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Series: Loving Deceit Hours [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1521542
Comments: 9
Kudos: 156





	The Absence of Pretence, Deceit, or Hypocrisy

**Author's Note:**

> Loving Deceit Hours - Virgil

There was a period of time when they didn’t see each other at all. The falling out had been neither of their faults, it was just that Virgil was changing, becoming more acceptable to the light sides, and Deceit… wasn’t. Virgil began to dislike Deceit’s mannerisms and methods, and Deceit disliked Virgil’s hypocrisy right back. They weren’t the only ones affected by their spat, though.

Deceit was angry for a total of 15 minutes before it faded into sadness. Deceit didn’t even care that Virgil was friendly with the light sides, it was that he’d turned against him in the process. Why was he suddenly not good enough? Why was he suddenly ‘bad’?

What was ‘good’ and ‘bad’, anyway? Subjective concepts confused him, but Deceit wasn’t moping. He wasn’t sulking, or moody, or broody. Shut up, Remus. If that’s how Virgil wanted it to be then fine, they’d go on without him. I said shut up, Remus.

Erasmus, however, was clearly not fine. He was clingy, rubbing up against Deceit at any chance he got – his way of cuddling – to the point that Remus was making some very unsavoury snake-themed innuendos… more than usual, anyway.

No matter what Deceit did, Erasmus only wanted more cuddles, and it didn’t take a genius to realise the cause for his little friend’s sudden need for constant affection. Erasmus clearly missed playing with his Virgil owned counterpart, and he didn’t really have anyone else to socialise with outside of Remus’ rabid creations, so it was only natural that he got lonely.

The most frustrating part of it all was that there was nothing Deceit could do about it. Was it fair that Erasmus couldn’t see Muffett because of them? No. Was he going to communicate with Virgil in any conceivable way? Also no. Sometimes life wasn’t fair. Sometimes you're stuck in a bad situation that’s out of your control and you just have to back away and let the other person alone to do whatever they want to do even if it hurts you. Deceit definitely wasn’t projecting onto his pet. Not even a little bit.

Shit, who was he kidding? He was moping like hell. He’d only ever been on two side’s good sides, and it had taken a long time to get on good terms with Virgil and losing him just… sucked. He couldn’t really blame him either, if given the choice Deceit wouldn’t be hanging around himself either.

Virgil felt uncertain as he walked away but felt that at the time it was the right decision. It took him all of 2 minutes to start missing Deceit, he’d never really treated Virgil badly, Virgil was just putting Thomas first now and spending time with someone who wanted Thomas to lie to himself and others wasn’t going to work for him anymore. Not if he actually wanted to help, and Deceit… Virgil knew he meant well, but he didn’t think that anything he did would end well for Thomas.

Muffett didn’t seem to be getting the memo here, she was threat posturing like shit whenever he tried to go near her, usually she was pretty docile when handled. It started right around the time he usually brought her ‘round to Deceit’s room to spend time with Erasmus. Shit. She wanted to play with the damn snake, and he knew how stubborn she was, Muffett was not going to chill until she got what she wanted; time with her friend. But that just wasn’t something he could do! That bridge was burnt! With a petrol bomb! Filled with Nails! Ugh! Go away, Remus!

How the fuck was he going to solve this problem? Conjuring a new animal wouldn’t work, she wanted Erasmus specifically. An attempt to give her a new playmate would be disastrous. She’d probably eat them.

What were they going to do?

Turns out, neither of them needed to do anything.

Ironically, Deceit panicked far more than Virgil did when they realised the only living things in their own rooms were them, perhaps because Virgil has more experience dealing with panic than Deceit does, but regardless, no matter the amount of searching they did, the wayward pets were not in their realms any longer.

Separately, they scrambled and floundered as they tried to piece together where a snake and a spider would decide to meet and came up with nothing.

They scour the mindscape and completely miss each other, didn’t even need to try as they weren’t aware the other was out looking. They look almost everywhere they aren’t first, and despair when they believe they’ve searched high and low with no result. Then they remember; the passageways from the subconscious to the conscious mind, barely anyone used them anymore, since learning how to phase in and out, but Muffett and Erasmus knew them, they’d brought them through many times when they were all young.

It didn’t take long to find the memory that would lead them to an entrance, it was almost like dusting off an old record or opening a book you read a long time ago in an abandoned library. Erasmus and Muffett are playing in a half-lit corridor, paying no mind to their caretakers’ sudden appearance at either end.

The relief is eclipsed by dread, as Deceit looks up and makes eye contact with Virgil. Moments feel like hours as a bonfire flares in Deceit’s chest. He misses him, and he doesn’t dare speak. He doesn’t know what Virgil’s feeling, here in this twilight zone, but he expects it to be none too dissimilar to what he feels if the ‘**I don’t miss him**’ Deceit hears clearly from Virgil’s mind means what he thinks it means.

Knowing he’s not going to get Erasmus to leave without getting bitten a whole lot, he sets himself on the floor right by the doorway, content to watch for a while.

He sees in his peripheral vision that Virgil is doing the same. Deceit vaguely wonders what Virgil is thinking right now, as tears well up in his eyes.

This appears to be the dynamic duos favourite place to play, because the next time they go ‘missing’ Virgil finds them within minutes, in the same place they were last time.

It takes Deceit longer to join them, at the opposite end of the hall, neither daring to begin a conversation still, but growing more at ease with the others presence. There will be no arguments or explanations or apologies, false or otherwise. There will be no hypocrisy or posturing or anything of the sort. They will just sit here, watching their pets enjoy each other’s company with an empty longing ache in their chests.

**Author's Note:**

> This one was a hard one, 'cause the relationship dynamic is very different to the others, but now the individual setting up the series fics are done, get ready for some multichapter/multiship fics next :) (Eventually anyway, I'm planning on focusing on getting further with/finishing up other fics I've got on here first, but they are coming)


End file.
